A drawing bought for only 30 dollars (26 euros) in a garage sale in the United States turned out to be, after long research, a work by the German Albrecht Dürer. It would be worth more than ten million dollars (8.7 million euros) today, reports
CNN relayed by
Capital .
It was a collector working for the American gallery Agnews Gallery who got his hands on the famous drawing. But the work of the painter, an emblematic figure of the German Renaissance, could well have slipped through his fingers.
A 16th-century drawing by one of the key figures of the German Renaissance has been valued in excess of $10 million after it was initially purchased at a yard sale for just $30 in 2017. #TheVirginAndChild #Last #AgnewsGallery https://t.co/iRoe81BJeF
— TheFinancialDistrict (@TheFinancialD) February 8, 2022
An “extremely exciting” moment
In 2019, the collector traveled to Massachusetts for a friend’s birthday. While looking for a gift in a bookstore, the man was approached by the bookseller who explained to him that one of his friends had discovered a Dürer in a flea market in 2017. The collector was initially suspicious. Indeed, the German painter has been studied so much that the last discovery about him dates back to the beginning of the 20th century.
He finally agreed to study the famous drawing, baptized The Virgin and Child. “I said to myself: ‘Either this is the biggest fake in history, or it’s a masterpiece’,” the collector told CNNrecalling an “extremely exciting” moment.
To authenticate the drawing, three whole years and the participation of many experts were necessary. The work, which could date from the early 1500s, is in an exceptional state of preservation. It will most likely be sold at auction soon.